The trees have survived because the water of the lake is incredibly cold

By Sam Webb

7th March 2017, 12:12 pm

Updated: 7th March 2017, 12:26 pm

THE unique and stunningly beautiful forest that lies BENEATH a lake in the wilds of Kazakhstan is laid bare in these incredible photos.

The sunken forest of 400m-long Lake Kaindy was created when an earthquake in 1911 triggered a landslide that formed a natural dam. The valley was then flooded by rainwater.

Trees usually rot when they are submerged for such a long time but the spruce trees have been preserved because the water is incredibly cold - the lake is around 2,000 metres above sea level in the Tian Shan mountains.

As well as the trees, the lake is famous for it's unusually bright blue colour caused by limestone deposits in the region. When the lake is frozen over in winter it attracts ice fishermen and divers.